While you may not want to admit it, Christmas is slowly (or perhaps quickly) approaching.
We’re almost halfway through the Advent calendar chocolates. Father Christmas has already made his list and checked it twice. But chances are, you still have plenty of Christmas gifts to conjure up.
What do you buy that friend or family member that’s a bit different? How do you impress someone you’d quite like to impress, with a foodie gift that’s a bit out there? What’s the best present for someone who’s as eco conscious as they’re a foodie?
No need to stress! You still have plenty of time to make easy, unique Christmas gifts for foodies on your nice list.
Unique Christmas Gifts for Foodies
There’s nothing better than receiving a gift that someone has put some thought into.
If you have a foodie friend, they’ll probably love trying new things and discovering exciting ingredients. So you can be as experimental and unique as you like! Or keep things simple but do them better than any shop bought version.
Whatever your style, or theirs, here are some unique foodie Christmas gift ideas.
Mason Jar Cakes
You’ve drunk coffee out of them, planted flowers in them, and filled them up with jam. But have you ever baked cakes in mason jars? These sturdy jars are made for canning, so they hold up well to oven heat.
Mix up your favourite fruitcake, quick-bread, or muffin recipe as normal. Then separate the mixture into mason jars and bake, making sure to leave enough space for rising.
When cooled, decorate to your liking with Christmas ribbons and cloth-topped lids.
If you can’t find mason/canning jars at your local shop, you can easily order them online.
Infused Spirits
Do you have an aspiring mixologist in your life? Help them kick their cocktail game up a notch with homemade infused spirits.
There’s no need for bubbling beakers or complicated contraptions. All it takes to make your own herb or fruit infusions is good ingredients and a little patience. And a fancy glass bottle or two to gift your creations in.
You could add your favourite berries to gin, steep kaffir leaves and lime grass in vodka or infuse your favourite rum with added spices.
There are lots of different ways to infuse and flavour spirits – use your imagination! Then simply pour your infusions into pretty bottles and add some handwritten cocktail recipes.
Mixologists with DIY streaks may prefer make-your-own infusion kits. Try this G And Tea infusion kit from Not on the High Street. Or for a budget alternative, make your own kit with foraged ingredients!
Brownie Box
Once a humble home bake, brownies are now completely at home at the country’s hippest bakeries. But the cool factor isn’t the only reason brownies make great gifts.
Thanks to their dense, chocolatey richness, they keep well, and they’re as easy to wrap as they are to make.
Bake your favourite brownies, and once cooled, cut them into blocks that fit into pretty boxes. Or wrap them in a reusable zero waste beeswax wrap. They can then use the wrap to cover leftovers or carry their lunch in.
Rainbow Bean Soup
This pretty present is as frugal as it is functional. All you need to make it are some large jars, a few bags of dried beans, and a handful of dried spices.
Layered in the clear jar, the multicoloured beans become a rainbow of lovely legumes. Print off a recipe and hand tie it around the neck of your jar.
The dried beans and spices are then ready to be turned into a delicious, December-ready soup. Here’s a recipe for Winter Lentil Soup in a Jar and one for Vegetarian Five Bean Soup Mix.
Cookbook Starter Set
Cookbooks always make solid foodie Christmas gifts. But, there’s nothing worse than finding that you don’t have the ingredients to make any of the recipes.
To avoid this, flip through the cookbook to see which ingredients are used most often. Then, package up an essential selection of spices and other dry products, to go with the cookbook.
Use a wicker basket or gift box you already have or use some personalised boxes to package up each ingredient.
International grocery stores are a good source for hard-to-find ingredients.
You can also find pre-made cookbook starter sets at online shops such as Sous Chef and Spice Kitchen.
Foodie Christmas Gifts Hamper
Every high street gourmet shop sells hampers full of fancy foods. Which is great, but no Marks & Spencer hamper-packer knows your friends as well as you do. So instead of going the pre-made route, make your own!
Visit a local market with a basket and pick out the foods and drinks that suit your friends’ tastes. Line your basket with some “gift shred”, or strips of paper, and fill it with your goodies. Then wrap it all up with coloured cellophane and ribbon.
If you don’t have time to build your own unique gift, you can still create customised foodie Christmas gifts. Try a celebrated hamper purveyor such as Virginia Hayward and Lewis & Cooper.
Unique Christmas Gifts for Foodies: Putting the Fun Into Christmas Shopping!
It doesn’t matter whether you buy your foodie Christmas gifts online or make them by hand. All the foodies on your list are sure to appreciate your thoughtful, personal touch!
It beats giving the same presents as everyone else and will make you stand out as a gift giver extraordinaire.
You never know, you might inspire someone else to start doing the same. The more unique gifts, the better. Often gifts like these help to avoid all the waste and excess that comes with Christmas.
Making your own gifts means less plastic wrapping and overzealous packaging adding to the piles of festive waste piled up in January.
What could be better than receiving a gift that’s tasty, green and unique? Keep creating amazing foodie gifts, and who knows what you might receive in return next year!
